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OA guidelines for H2020 projects working on COVID-19

The EC has published new guidelines for open access to publications, data and other research outputs after the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2.

[Translate to English:] A vessel with a sample

Photo: Philippe Corbisier | Source: Audiovisual Service from the European Commission: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/album/M-004705

Topics covered by the guidelines 

The guidelines document, opens an external URL in a new window offers you a broad range of information. 

The “FAIR principles” section

describes how to manage research outputs, such as publication, data etc. to ensure their reuse in the future. Given this principles digital assets should be curated to be findable, accessable, interoperable, and reusable.

The EC points out, that FAIR principles do not impose openness on digital assets, but rather refer to the adequate provisions, which indicates that data can be fully in line with the FAIR principles even when access is restricted. You can find a detailed information how to improve your digital assets on the GO-FAIR website, opens an external URL in a new window.

The “Publications” chapter

specifies how to handle publications, by

  • Making all research publications relevant to the outbreak immediately available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC BY 4.0)or a license with equivalent rights (article Processing Charges are eligible costs in the projects). If your discipline does not have a preferred repository and there is no repository in your institution, you may deposit your publications and data with the general-purpose repository Zenodo at no cost.
  • Making research findings available via preprint servers before journal publication, or via platforms that make publications openly accessible before peer-review. Examples for reliable and currently very relevant preprint archives are bioRxiv (life sciences), medRxiv (medical), PsyArxiv (behavioural sciences), SocArXiv (social sciences), ArXiv (o.a. physics, mathematics, computer science) and Open Science Framework (OSF) preprints or Zenodo.
  • Providing information via the repository about any research output or any other tools and instruments needed to re-use and/or validate the conclusions of the scientific publication. This includes for example software, workflows, models, materials etc. If possible, provide access to the tools or instruments themselves.
  • Including metadata of deposited publications under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC 0 1.0) or equivalent, in line with the FAIR principles. Provide information, for example about the author(s), title, date of publication, publication venue, the Framework Programme and the action, its licensing terms and provide persistent identifiers for the publication (e.g. DOI).

The section “Research data”

specifies how to handle data, by

  • Making research data openly accessible immediately, and in accordance with the FAIR principles. Currently, the Grant Agreement may require (if Art 29.3 option 1c for health actions targeting public health emergencies is active) that you make data accessible at the latest within 30 days of generation. Open data should be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC BY 4.0) or a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0 1.0) or a licence with rights equivalent to the above.
  • Developing provisions for access to the data if open access is not possible because of exceptions as described in GA Article 29.3, so long as reasons for exceptions are respected. The principle ‘As open as possible, as closed as necessary’ applies.  
  • Providing open access to all data that may be useful to researchers. This includes protocols and standards used to collect the data as well as raw and other data that is not necessarily used for publications.
  • Depositing quality-controlled research data in a data repository as soon as possible and within the deadlines set out in your data management plan (DMP). Ensure persistent and unique identifiers (PIDs), metadata, curation and quality, security, privacy etc.
  • Providing information via the repository about any research output or any other tools and instruments needed to re-use or validate the data. This includes for example software, workflows, models, materials etc. If possible, provide access to the tools or instruments.
  • Including metadata of deposited data under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC 0 1.0) or equivalent, in line with the FAIR principles and provide information at least about the following eg. dataset description, date of deposit, author(s), venue and (if applicable) embargo, about the Framework Programme and the action, licensing terms, persistent identifiers for the dataset etc.

The section “Data Management Plans (DMPs)”

specifies how to handle data, by:

  • Providing a data management plan (DMP) preferably with the proposal or at the latest before grant signature. The data management plan should address the relevant aspects of making the data FAIR. , including for example: a description of the data generated/collected (including data types) and an estimate of its size, if and how the data will be made accessible for verification and re-use, along with relevant security and privacy considerations, how the research data will be, provide timelines etc.
  • Updating your DMP regularly: the DMP should be a living document.
  • Registerring your DMP as a non-restricted, public deliverable that is openly accessible, unless there are reasons (as per GA Article 29.3) to restrict it.
  • Remembering that costs for research data are eligible if they comply with the costs eligibility requirements set out under GA Article 6.2.D.3.
  • Check under the “Other useful tools and resources” section for useful resources that support the generation of DMPs.

The section “Other research outputs”

specifies how to handle other research outputs projects, by:

  • Managing other research outputs in line with the FAIR principles, and fully document them in your DMP, to facilitate their re-use in the future and to support actions aiming to link corona virus-related research via dedicated platforms. Every effort should be made for other research outputs to be FAIR.

Ongoing data-related efforts under the umbrella of the European Open ScienceCloud you need to know:

The document also provides you with information how to link with and make use of existing European Research Infrastructures for: 

  • life-science information, ELIXIR,
  • biobanking BBMRI-ERIC,
  • multinational clinical research ECRIN-ERIC, 
  • translational medicine EATRIS-ERIC,
  • structural biology INSTRUCT-ERIC,
  • biological and biomedical imaging EuroBioImaging,
  • infectious emerging and remerging diseases ERINHA,
  • as well as using the
  • the European Virus Archive EVAg, with specific products available for SARS-CoV-2.
  • and the he vaccine research and development infrastructure network TRANSVAC.

Consolidated information on dedicated services offered by Research Infrastructures against the COVID-19 pandemic, can be found at:

Other useful tools and resources you can use in your research:

Link to the entire guidelines document

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/hi/oa-pilot/h2020-guidelines-oa-covid-19_en.pdf, opens an external URL in a new window

Contact

Technische Universität Wien
Center for Research Data Management
Resselgasse 4 (TU Wien Bibliothek), 1040 Vienna
research.data@tuwien.ac.at

The Team, opens an external URL in a new window